Mi Tío Más Querido
by TheSkullman
Summary: Grief was an odd feeling. It tore at you and filled you up with anguish, while at the same time draining you and leaving you hollow. Jaune found himself in the paradox of grief when his uncle passed away.


**Hello. I know I haven't exactly been active recently. I've taken a step back to look at my fics in detail, and I now understand that I lacked planning for them. They're not fully dead. I will just update them very intermittently.**

 **This fic is very personal to me. I lost someone dear to me a little while back, and I think this can be a productive use of my time. In this story, Jaune will lose someone dear to him. It's not a canon character; he's a family member of my own creation for Jaune.**

 **The story can be summed up like this: Jaune goes through the process of grieving for his loved one's death. The title,** **mi tío más querido** **, is Spanish for "My Dearest Uncle". Roughly, at least. The title being in Spanish and not French will be explained as we go. It won't be action-oriented, it's much more character and emotionally driven than anything. It'll be a challenge to write it, but I do enjoy difficulty.**

 **Now then, on with the show.**

 **Ssssssssssssssssssss**

 _Mi tío más querido,_

 _I'm sorry for not writing you earlier than this; life has been pretty hectic for me lately. I just received your latest letter from the mail room in Beacon (I definitely knew that existed before today!) and realized I never told you where I was going. I've already spoiled it, but I guess I should formally tell you:_

 _I got into Beacon. Actually, even better than that: I got into Beacon, and I'm the leader of a team! Team JNPR, to be specific. My teammates are Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, along with my wonderful partner Pyrrha Nikos. Yeah, I know right? I have a cereal box mascot as a partner, how rad is that? Oh, by the way: I attached a picture of us along with Team RWBY. They're essentially our sister team. It's led by Ruby Rose, with Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long making up the rest of it._

 _Anyways, how have you been Uncle Perrault? I know Dad told me you've been back home for awhile. He still lets me know when you come and go. I don't really know why, either. I didn't think we were even on speaking terms to begin with. Please write me back when you can, I'm so excited to tell you about all of the cool things I've experienced!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Jaune_

"Jaune, are you alright in there? Lunch is about to begin!"

A voice spoke up from outside of his dorm room, awakening him from his reverie and casting him into a world not consumed by ink and paper. Jaune threw himself off his bed, almost rolling on the ground in the process, and stood next to the door. He cleared his throat, ran a hand fruitlessly through his hair ( _it just wouldn't be tamed_ ), and exited his room. Vibrant red hair with a golden crown piercing it greeted him. Emerald eyes, a warm smile, and a hand raised to open the door. It quickly fell to her side to avoid awkwardly hanging in the air, and Jaune smiled at Pyrrha.

"Yeah, I couldn't be better. Let's go eat."

Pyrrha nodded at him and they walked to the cafeteria together. The white walls of the dormitory faded into the grass and brown bricks of the courtyard. A quick stroll to the next building led them into a facility of grey stone and dark brown wooden floors. The aroma of freshly baked bread, along with well roasted pork and other meaty accessories, assaulted their senses as they took in the masses of students enjoying their food. A quick scan of the cafeteria led them to spotting their regular group of friends.

Pyrrha and Jaune loaded their plates with a variety of savory foods, all the while discussing how their respective days were. Pyrrha's was normal, albeit a bit boring considering she only had Oobleck's class. Jaune's was much the same, with the exception being his uncle's letter.

"Oh?", Pyrrha said. "I wasn't aware you wrote letters to your uncle."

Jaune winced. "I may have just discovered the mail room yesterday." Pyrrha smiled at him as they set their plates down at the table. Only Weiss, Blake, and Ren greeted them, as the others were involved in the telling of a dream Nora had.

"It was a dark and stormy night!"

"It was daytime. Quite sunny, too."

"There had to have been at leas-", Nora was cut off by a cry of pain. Jaune's eyes found the sight of Cardin bullying Velvet once again. Pyrrha let out a disgusted scoff. "How atrocious. I hate people like him."

"You're not the only one," Blake said. Her face was scrunched into a scowl, and she glared at the group.

"It must be hard being a Faunus," Yang said; her tone was one of sympathy and care.

Jaune stared at his plate, inferiority complex rapidly settling into his thoughts. _You can't help her. You can't even help yourself._

His uncle's words in the previous letter found him, and encouraged him to stand.

 _Look, this world is mean. It ain't like the world I grew up in; it's much worse now. You can't go a day without a bad thing happening, and yet we all act like it's fine. It isn't. Don't let it be, Jaune. You're smart, I know you are. Me? I'm just an old man who can barely spell your name right. You have a blessed mind, so use it to make this world better. Us old people are counting on you, after all._

His mind raced through plans of action until he found one that could stop Cardin efficiently. He tuned out the sound of his friends calling him back as he strode over to the group.

 _Cardin is much bigger than me, and can easily beat me in one-on-one combat. A four-on-one situation won't be much better. The only situation that could stop this would be a diplomatic solution. Well, let's go ahead with step one: question his motives._

"Why exactly do you do this?"

Cardin looked up from the Faunus he was harassing to none other than _Jaune_ of all people talking to him. His was was serious, but his question was curious. Cardin smiled, and answered the blonde's question. "It's fun, and she's just an animal. Don't tell me you sympathize with her, Jauney-boy?"

The nickname grated at his nerves, but he didn't outwardly react. A moment passed, and the response flowed from his mouth. "That's right. If I'm honest, everytime I see you doing this I think of someone doing this to one of my sisters. Those thoughts help me stop myself from being too harsh to anyone, I guess. You ever thought about this from that angle?"

 _Step two: get him to approach it from a different mental angle._

Cardin looked perturbed by this. For a moment, he looked down and his face cast itself into an expression of doubt. He snapped out of it and stared at Jaune, his eyes now holding a new regard for the blonde. A simple question, a new point of view, that's all it took to shake Cardin.

Jaune continued. "If you are okay with harassing her, would it be alright for someone to assault your loved ones? What if it was your sister who suffered for something they couldn't control; would you accept it? Would you accept it as being just another instance of a 'fun' activity? Or would you punch that guy in the face and get his hands off your sister?"

 _Step three: relate this to something he can understand. His beliefs aren't very firm, so I might've stopped him from being so belligerent._

The questions had the force of a bomb, as the silent cafeteria focused on the ideological inquisition that was ensuing. Cardin's face morphed into a pensive expression. He let go of Velvet's ears, and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes fell away from Jaune, looking into the distance at something that wasn't truly there. Without noise, he stood and towered over Jaune. They met eyes, respect and something that wasn't truly admiration existing there, and Cardin spoke. His voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

"It's not that simple, Arc. It just isn't, and I wouldn't expect you to understand. I don't want you to try convincing me otherwise, either." With that, he signalled his team and they left. Russell tried catching up to him and speaking with him, but Cardin merely quickened his pace and ignored his partner as they exited the building.

Jaune looked to Velvet. She was hurting, that much he could tell. He smiled at her, and spoke softly. "Will you be okay? I don't think they're going to stop."

She gazed at him and looked away. Her eyes found her plate, discovering that it was much more important than the blonde in front of her. "I will be fine. Thank you for standing up for me, Jaune. It's very kind of you."

A dopey smile lit up his face. "It's not a problem! And I'm sure they would stop bothering you if you sat by us. Nine on four odds aren't the most appealing to really anyone."

Velvet giggled. "No, I'm quite alright over here. But, once again, thank you for being so kind. I have to leave anyways; I enjoy being early to class. See you around, Jaune!" Jaune said goodbye to her as well and walked back to his group of friends. Pyrrha's face was an expression of pure pride in her partner. He smiled back at her as he took in the others' flabbergasted and amazed expressions.

"How did you of all people accomplish that," asked Weiss.

Jaune winced for the second time. "C'mon Weiss; I can't be that bad, right?"

Everyone else sans Pyrrha and Ruby shook their heads. Jaune was going to entertain a spheal of self deprecating humor when Goodwitch approached him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Goodwitch," he asked as politely as possible. She pulled a letter out from under her shoulder and handed it to Jaune. He took it, immediately recognizing the chain shot and sandbags that denoted his father's "handwriting".

"I found this letter on the ground outside of the mail room. Please be more considerate in the future, Mr. Arc." She strode away, her purpose fulfilled.

Jaune peered at the letter as the chatter of the table resumed. Only Yang noticed the letter. A mischievous glint entered her eye as she swiped the letter from Jaune's hands.

"A love letter, eh Jaune? And I thought you were-", she stopped herself as she read the contents of the letter. Her face fell as she gently folded the letter and put it back into its envelope.

Her voice was strained as she spoke. "Jaune, I'm so sorry." Jaune was perplexed as he reopened the envelope.

"It wasn't really that mean, Yang. I forgive you." He finally unsealed the letter and his eyes read the first paragraph. Once he read through it, he realized exactly why Yang apologized. She reached her hand over and grabbed his hand, rubbing it with her thumb. Tears, unbidden and unwanted, streamed from his eyes before he could fully realize that his uncle was dead. He was dead, there's no coming back from that, he's dead, he's dea-

"Jaune, you're crying! What's wrong?"

His partner's concerned voice attracted the attention of the others, who were now aware of his plight. Yang leaned across the table and engulfed Jaune in a hug. Her warmth provided safety to him as she murmured sweet and comforting words into his ear. All the while he cried like an infant for the uncle he loved so dearly.

 **Ssssssssssssssssssssssss**

 _Dear Jaune,_

 _I know we haven't talked much recently. I'm partially to blame for this, but that's not important at the moment._

 _Last night, your uncle passed away. The doc said it was a form of cancer that we didn't catch until it was too late. We took him in thinking he was just coming down with some common cold. They found a tumor in his chest the size of a soda can. He was already experiencing renal failure when we brought him in._

 _I need to go comfort your mother right now. She's extremely devastated right now. I think she wants you, more than anyone, to come home and see her. Please._

 _Just know that your uncle is in a better place; he made his peace with death as soon as he was told the diagnosis. I think he's known about this for awhile, but it doesn't really matter now._

 _I love you son. Please come home._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Dad_

 **Ssssssssssssssss**

The world slowed to a crawl around Jaune as he tried his best to sleep that night. He was exhausted emotionally and physically. His team, and the sisters of RWBY, had taken the next class off to comfort him. All that was left of Jaune was a hollow feeling in his stomach, a nasty pit of grief and doubt and unacceptance.

Slowly, Jaune breathed in and out to calm himself. He needed some form of stability, some normalcy in his life. Sleep would provide that

He would not receive it yet. His night was restless as hot tears threatened to breach his tear ducts. Eventually, after hours of tossing and turning, his body drifted into a dreamless sleep.

 **Ssssssssssssssss**

 **Leave a review, tell me what you think of this story. Until next time.**


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